Page:The Adventures Of A Revolutionary Soldier.pdf/96

94 eager were they to be revenged on the invaders of their country and rights.

As soon as the troops had left this ground the British planted their cannon upon the place, and began a violent attack upon the Artillery and our detachment, but neither could be routed. The cannonade continued for sometime without intermission, when the British pieces being mostly disabled, they reluctantly crawled back from the height which they had occupied, and hid themselves from our sight.

Before the cannonade had commenced, a part of the right wing of the British army had advanced across a low meadow and brook, and occupied an orchard on our left. The weather was almost too hot to live in, and the British troops in the orchard were forced by the heat to shelter themselves from it under the trees. We had a four pounder on the left of our pieces which kept a constant fire upon the enemy during the whole contest. After the British Artillery had fallen back and the connonade had mostly ceased in this quarter, and our detachment had an opportunity to look about us, Col. Cilly of the New-Hampshire line, who was attached to our detachment, passed along in front of our line, inquiring for Gen. Varnum's men, (who were the Connecticut and Rhode-Island men belonging to our command;) we answered, "Here we are;" he did not hear us in his hurry, but passed on: in a few minutes he returned, making the same inquiry,—we again answered, "Here we are." "Ah!" said he, "you are the boys I want to assist in driving those rascals from yon orchard." We were immediately ordered from our old detachment and joined another, the whole composing a corps of about five hundred men. We instantly marched towards the enemy's right wing, which was in the orchard, and kept concealed from them as long as possible, by keeping behind the bushes. When we could no longer keep ourselves concealed, we marched into the open fields and formed our line. The British immediately formed and began to retreat to the main body of their army. Col. Cilly, finding that we were not likely to overtake the enemy before they reached the main body of the army, on account of fences and other obstructions, ordered three or four platoons from the right of our corps to pursue and attack